The decision to go to Paris during the pandemic went from a relatively simple one to one that became more complex, as a new variant decided to emerge. After many hours spent on the phone with friends and after reading through pages and pages of web sites, I decided to go, and see what happened.
Paris turns out to be very open, and the reason for which the city can be so open, for the moment, is that people wear masks and are vaccinated. I have been relatively careful, always mindful of wearing my mask when indoors, and always ready to present my proof of vaccination when asked.
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On this trip I found myself looking at new clothes rather than used ones. I think it's psychological, but it's also because I haven't been to the city in two years, and the fashions are amazing: the colors, the patterns and the styles are beautiful of course.
The Galleries Lafayette on the Champs-Elysées
I've been mostly obsessed with the coats. Winter coats now come in all kinds of tweedy and windowpane patterns, with all kinds of color combinations. I brought my trusted black boiled wool Geiger coat, thinking that black would be the dominant color, but I was wrong. Maybe people want to express themselves with color, as a way to fight back against the difficulty of living with COVID. The woman on the metro in the above photo was dressed so nicely, and the blue bag that she is holding added a touch of color to her overall look. I almost walked up to her to ask her where she had found that fantastic coat.
The quartier Saint-Paul in the 4th had some vintage stores. I found a brooch in a store that specialised in vintage jewelry.
Finally, Paris means museums. After a visit to the Institut du Monde Arabe which had a really well documented exhibit on "Jews in the Arab world," I had lunch with my cousin in a brasserie across the street that had a classic fussball table. It stirred feelings of nostalgia for my childhood, parts of which I spent playing fussball on a beach in the south of France.
